Chapter 243: Tasting
The kitchen in the tower, much like my house, had water flowing continuously. The water on this island was a refreshing 12 to 13 degrees, a welcome relief from the surrounding heat. Thanks to the water running through the area, the town felt much cooler compared to Naruadeid.
I decided to make potato gnocchi, along with a tomato sauce, and perhaps a cheese and cream sauce that would complement the flavors. It was a bit off mealtime, but I figured that would be fine.
Just a glass of white wine—no, I’d stick with white grape juice. The potato gnocchi was already prepared, so the cooking wouldn’t take long.
For the crops I wanted to grow in the field, I thought about including mangoes and sugarcane. They might not have much flavor, but they’d be for Soleil.
“Excuse me,” Auro said with a smile.
“Please, come in.”
“It takes a bit of courage to eat here. I feel pressured thinking about making a mess,” Soleil said, fidgeting nervously.
“This room has temporary furniture, so it doesn’t matter if it gets dirty or not,” I reassured him.
“Ugh…” It seemed like he had some trauma related to expensive furniture or floors.
“I must say, this is my first time seeing a Spirit Lamp,” Charles remarked, looking at the water flowing through the tower.
“Just sit anywhere,” I said while arranging the dishes on the table. The plates were pristine white porcelain made in the pasture, and the cutlery was something I had enthusiastically collected from Naruadeid.
“Porcelain… There are still so few pieces in Naruadeid,” Soleil noted, clearly knowledgeable about new things.
“It’s hard and beautiful,” Faramia said, gazing at it with unusual admiration.
“It smells wonderful,” Auro added, seemingly in high spirits.
“…” In contrast, Kiel looked as if he were about to step onto the gallows.
“Here’s the potato gnocchi, as promised. There are two types of flavors,” I explained. One was gnocchi with eggplant, zucchini, pancetta, mozzarella, and tomato sauce, while the other was gnocchi with cheese and cream sauce.
“Feel free to add black pepper to the white one, according to your taste.” I had made a pepper mill! Grinding it in a mortar was a hassle, and it felt much better to sprinkle it on my own dish. It still needed some improvements, but it was usable for now.
“Black pepper is becoming quite widespread. However, it’s still too expensive for ordinary people to afford. I wonder if there’s a more efficient way to transport it,” Soleil sighed.
I had a certain image of spices like pepper being tied to slavery. It was good that they were spreading, but I couldn’t help but think about the production areas.
“How do you open this?” Kiel asked.
“You don’t open it; you twist it like this,” I demonstrated, grinding some onto my plate while Kiel furrowed his brow.
“It’s convenient. The freshly ground aroma is outstanding,” Soleil said, happily taking the mill from me and grinding away.
“I’ve never seen one of these before. Where did you get it?” Faramia asked as she received the mill from Soleil, looking at me curiously.
“I made it.”
“…Can I sell this too? I don’t have the luxury to branch out too much, so I’d prefer to outsource production,” she said.
“That’s fine, but I think it still needs some improvements.”
“I think this is sufficient…” Soleil always tried to turn everything into a business opportunity. I didn’t mind, though.
“…Kiel, is that going to be too spicy?” I asked, noticing Kiel was grinding away seriously, turning the white sauce dark. When I called out to him, he froze, staring at his plate in shock. Was he actually enjoying this?
“This is potato… The red one is tomato, right? And this must be zucchini—so, is this eggplant?” Charles was inspecting the items on his plate.
“It was very delicious, my lord,” Auro said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, looking cheerful. Wait, what? When did he finish eating!?
“Auro, that’s not like you. Did you forget your caution somewhere…?” Kiel exclaimed in disbelief. I felt like I didn’t want to hear that from him.
“…Wonderful. This is better than the sweets—” Charles said, staring intently at his plate after tasting the tomato sauce.
“So it was you who made the sweets, my lord?” Faramia asked, surprising Kiel.
“W-What!?” Kiel stammered in shock.
“Did you really not notice?” I was more surprised by that. It seemed everyone except Kiel had figured it out.
“You made this…!?” Kiel exclaimed, looking at me as if I were a ghost.
“The flavor comes more from the ingredients than the cook. Spirits seem to be increasing on this island, so I believe vegetables grown in the field will have flavor,” I explained.
“I’ll start growing them right away, my lord,” Charles said.
“Oh, please do—” I started to say, only to realize it was Charles, not Auro. Had the number of people increased!? Auro was nodding with a smile.
“Um, I’d like you to grow this too, but it doesn’t have much flavor,” Soleil said, handing me a plate with diced mango and a piece of sugarcane about ten centimeters long.
All eyes gathered on the plate. I mean, it wouldn’t have flavor for anyone other than Soleil, right?
“It’s sweet and melts in your mouth. This is sugarcane, right? I’ve only eaten it once, but it’s the source of sugar, isn’t it? However, I wonder if there’s enough space on the island to grow all of this,” Soleil said, looking enchanted by the mango but remaining calm.
“I was thinking of not selling them directly, but rather serving them in a restaurant. Once we have enough, I’d like to sell seedlings to a trading company to spread them. Oh, but mangoes and sugarcane need a warm climate, and those two are just for fun,” I explained. My house didn’t have quite enough temperature for that. The greenhouse had stalled due to the glass being a thermal barrier.
“I see, so you want people to taste them first and then buy them. Charles, can I leave the selection of people involved in the field to you?” Soleil asked.
“Of course. If those two need a warm climate, we should plant them on the southern side, a bit away from the waterway. What conditions do tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes require?”
We discussed the conditions for each vegetable. First, we planned to serve dishes at the more upscale inn, selecting customers carefully. The first guests would be the wealthy from Naruadeid—upper management from the Merchant Guild or heads of major trading companies. I’d be thrilled if we could get it ready in time, but if not, I could always bring something from home.
“Confectioneries… You were making confectioneries…?”
Why did they find it so hard to believe? I really wanted to return to reality already.
From the usual chaotic scenes of competing for sweets, a serious proposal was made to enclose the field with a fence and put a lock on it. I wondered if the employees would be alright with that.